We were lucky to catch up with Patrick Krohn recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Patrick thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Both of my parents lived into their 90’s and both passed in 2024. At the services we had for them, my family – all eight kids, our spouses and children – talked about many of the lessons our parents taught us. Though, one theme rose to the top: They showed up for everything.
I am the family photographer, and also the keeper of all the photos my parents took. Going through the decades of images made it clear to me how my parents were present at all the big events – and many of the small ones, too. They were there for graduations, weddings, births, First Communions, more graduations and the next generation of weddings and births.
Since I followed a less traditional path by going into photography, they were unsure how this unusual adventure would play out. Though their support for me and my pursuits never wavered. I still have the photos of us together at my photojournalism graduation. Two years later, they were happy to fly across the country to celebrate my engagement. And to attend our wedding the next year. And a few years later, they again crossed the country soon after the birth of our daughter.
For all of us, when my parents were there, they were there with us. They were genuinely excited and they were engaged and present with each person for their big event. There wasn’t any comparison to others in the family, or talk about how they had to get back home for something that was more important. To them, what was important at that moment was that person and that person alone.
This taught me to work at being present with my own family and my own endeavors. As we go though our big and small events, to be genuinely excited when it’s something positive and fully supportive when it’s not so positive.
As I returned to my roots as a photographer almost 10 years ago, my parents sincerely asked about how my work was coming a long, what new things I was creating and any shows I had coming up. In 2023, my parents – both in their 90’s – insisted they would drive from Florida to South Carolina to attend my gallery opening. As I spent the time meeting and talking with other visitors, they spent the evening charming everyone who came in contact with them. We had a great weekend sharing stories and talking about our future plans. Showing up and supporting the people around them was by far one of the greatest lessons I learned from my parents.

Patrick, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a nature and landscape photographer here in Aiken, SC. Though, my love and connection to photography has been a long and windy road that started more 40 years ago. As a kid I was interested in photos, and at one point I had one of those 110mm cameras. We moved around a lot when I was young, and I lived in New Zealand for 18 months in high school. It was there one of my Kiwi friends lent me his 35mm camera and showed me how to develop the photos. Seeing that first image come up, was the spark that really started the fire for me. (I still have that very first print.)
In college I majored in photojournalism and spent the first 10 years of my career working for newspapers in the Western USA. I left photojournalism in 2000 to pursue a career in sales. I earned my MBA a few years later. After 12 years of sales, I changed again to my current occupation as a pricing analyst for a large manufacturing company.
It was in 2016 when our daughter went off to college and my wife went back to school as well, that I bought a digital camera and started to reacquaint myself with photography. Though, it was in 2019 after taking a trip to England to visit our daughter studying there, that I really decided to get much more serious about photography again. To do that, I made the commitment to start carrying my camera to work every day. Since then, I have been exploring my little town and having a lot of fun doing it.
I think it is my serious commitment to working locally that sets me apart from much of the rest of the landscape photography world. While others are chasing grand landscapes that are sometimes overdone and repetitive, I have been steadily building up a portfolio of local images that are unique to me and this area. Some are even considered iconic for their rendering of Aiken. Many of my images have been shown in galleries around the country as well as placing very high in international photo competitions. Even winning the 2025 “In You Backyard” category of the Natural Landscape Photography Awards against thousands of other images.
I know my commitment to my local landscapes has helped others start to notice more the subtle beauty that is around them every day. I hope I help them realize they can enjoy and appreciate what nature has to offer, even right outside their front door.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think about the question of creativity a lot. And it’s one of the reasons I started my weekly blog called “Eclectic Musings of a One-Eyed Dog.” (Anyone can subscribe for it on my website: one-eyeddogstudios.com.) In it I talk about how everyone has different types of creativity and they express it in different ways. I do not believe there are people who are non-creative and likely never will be creative. There are many people who do not get the opportunity to express their creativity to its full extent for many reasons. But they often still can and do creative things inside or outside their careers or in their hobbies. Yes, there are people that don’t pursue the more obvious creative endeavors. Though, if we really step back and think about it, the idea of “creativity” is much broader and more encompassing then we might have first realized. If we really think about it, is there any career or job that doesn’t have at least some level of creativity to it? Even if the people doing it don’t consider themselves as a creative person.
For example, my dad was the consummate engineer, and throughout most of his life I don’t think he or my family ever really have thought of him as “creative.” But it was while reading Chase Javis’s book, “Creative Calling”, that I had to reevaluate how I defined creativity for myself and for others. I then thought back to the times my dad would talk about issues at work, or pore over engineer drawings and plans to find out why something wasn’t working the way it should. Then, he would overcome logistical and budgetary constraints to come up with possible solutions that nobody else had seen. And isn’t that the nature of creativity? Putting elements together in a way only you can do it to make something unique? To solve a problem others could not?
So, I guess my advice to anyone who might think of themselves as a “non-creative”, is step back and think about what ways they might be more creative than they give themselves credit for. Were there times they come up with a solution to any problem? Did they overcome any obstacles in their life or career? Did they do anything that others might have thought of as “outside the norm” for that situation? Then, I would argue, they have engaged in some type of creative act, whether they think of it that way or not. I really hope people can see past the labels of “creative” and “non-creative, and just look for ways they are already creative, and build from there.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I’d say I have a few goals when it comes to my creative journey, though there are two that I think most of them fall under: striving to be a storyteller of the nature near me and helping others realize their creative potential.
When I got back into photography a few years ago, I was not able to do much traveling, though I wanted to work on my photography skills. I decided I would put in the effort to get to know my local landscape and telling its story. I discovered no matter where I went within a 10-mile radius, I could find compelling images from the most common of places and things. Some of my images have been of simple trees, a tree stump that looks like a little city, a leaf in a stream, and even roots in the mud.
I am hoping through this effort I will motivate others to start noticing their local landscapes and appreciate everything they have to offer. We so often overlook the things we see every day and forget to appreciate the beauty – both big and small – that consistently surrounds us.
I have been teaching photography classes for a few years now, and I have recently started a weekly blog called “Eclectic Musings” that anyone can sign up for on my website one-eyeddogstudios.com. Both are tied to my goal to help anyone who wants to explore their creativity more. I am hopeful I can inspire people to try new ways to express their creativity. Because if we are all being a little more creative every day, we are helping the world be a little brighter for ourselves and for those around us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.one-eyeddogstudios.com
• Instagram: @Oneeyeddogstudios
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/patrick.krohn.33

Image Credits

Patrick Krohn/One-Eyed Dog Studios